Chapter Two

~Kaelan~

I had already shifted to my human form when she collapsed on my chest. I was confused-for a while before getting her up and carrying her in bridal style as I made my way back to the pack.

I saw Ryder my Beta waiting for me with seventeen soldiers at the gate. They were protecting the pack from my wolf, but I read shock on their faces when they saw me in my human form - with the sacrifice that was supposed to appease my beast.

"Alpha. You're... human again."

'Tell Gaius to get to my room right now! I need him to make sure that this is alive' I ordered and walked past him.

Normally, I wouldn't really care if she was dead or alive, but right now, she is the only one who can tell me what the hell had happened, since I couldn't remember a thing.

Whenever I turn into my beast in a full moon, I always black out, and when I get to my human form, I remember nothing. Only the piled-up bodies and the stories my pack members tell me.

Being a cursed wolf was something I had to live with; I've tried everything in my power to look for a cure, but nothing could help. I've resorted to killing myself, asking my pack members to kill me off so they won't have to deal with me killing them off one by one. Those who were courageous enough to attack me in my beast form tried, and when I was in my human form, I made them try to kill me off, but somehow my wolf took control and ended up killing them.

It was so tiring to live with the guilt eating me up, and when I tried to kill myself, I ended up living. Don't know how? I just found myself alive.

I walked into the palace and headed upstairs immediately, ignoring the eyes of the maids and servants who were surprised to see me this early and in human form.

I should have checked if there were injuries on her body, but I panicked and picked her up without checking to see if she was okay.

But I cared less about their ogling, confused gaze. I stepped into my room and dropped her on the bed and asked Gaius, who was already in my room, to check her up.

I walked out of the room to give Gaius, my pack healer, enough privacy to check up on her. Ryder walks up to me and hands me a cup of cold water to drink.

He didn't say anything, but I knew he had questions to ask.

"Ask your questions?" I said lazily, dropping the glass cup on the table nearby.

He looked at me and shrugged, "Not that you would remember anything that happened in there, so what's the point in asking." He mumbled, and I sighed.

I didn't feel offended by his words. It was the truth after all.

"I hope you are okay?" He asked, concern written all over his face.

"If you feel anything funny, just tell me, and I'll ask Gaius to check up on you," he added, and I sent him a warm smile filled with assurance.

I pat his back, "I'm fine. Let's worry more about the enstranged woman in my room," I mumbled.

"I hope she survives this. We need to know what she did to make you shift to your human form," he murmured, and the room fell quiet. I badly wanted to go in and check up on her.

Every time the full moon comes, I switch to my beast and stay in that form for a whole week before shifting to my human form. This was the first time I would shapeshift under twenty-four hours, and it was because of this beautiful, rejected omega princess from nowhere.

Gaius finally came out of the room, bringing me out of my thoughts. I strode to his side in haste; my eyes gleamed, and a tiny bit of hope surged inside of me.

"She is alive but unconscious," he announced, and I let out a relieved breath. Glad that she survived even though she's unconscious. I furrowed my brows as I looked into Gaius' eyes; he had something else to say, and I'm not sure if that's good news.

"Alpha, you did something unexpected," Gaius said and paused, his gray old eyes staring into mine like he couldn't believe what I'd done.

"Speak, Gaius! What did I do?" I urged him, wanting to know what he had to say.

"You beast had connected with her," he responded, but I was confused.

"What do you mean by that, Gaius? Do not speak in parables," I stated.

"What I am trying to say is that you marked the young lady Alpha, but luckily she's breathing," he replied, and I felt my breathing seize. Ryder lets out a gasp.

"I... what?"

That was impossible.

Every female that has been with me has never been marked. My beast just feeds from the blood, sucks them dry till they die, and she... got marked by him?

What kind of species was she? She was definitely no ordinary wolf.

I needed to know what she has done to me.

I was about to say something when one of the wolf guards came into the room with a sense of urgency.

It only meant one thing - I had to find a way to keep her here by all means.

"Long live my Alpha", he bowed while panting heavily. "There's a serious problem. We're about to go to war!"

~~~

"What do you want to talk to me about that couldn't wait?", I asked the elders impatiently.

I was ready to go to war with Lebinnin and take all that belonged to them, but for some reason, the royal elders needed to see me.

"We know that you're bloodthirsty and you want to put Lebinnin in their place ...", elder Fenris began "... but we can't allow you leave. Not until you get yourself a mate."

I honestly didn't know whether to be pissed or be confused. "What's the meaning of all this?"

"My Alpha, we need you to understand. You can't keep going to war without an heir to the throne or a Luna, at least. If you go to war and don't come back, the throne will be taken away from your lineage, and we can't have that happen", Elder Obed tried to explain more of this bullshit to me.

"Do you think that I will die from warring with Lebinnin?", I questioned them.

"It's nothing like that. We know you're the most ruthless Alpha in the whole wolf realm, but we can't keep taking our chances anymore. We need you to find a mate before you go to war with Lebinnin."

I hated every word they said, but I knew they were speaking the truth. It was an abomination for an Alpha to stay this long without a wife or family.

But I had my reasons. I knew I would never be a loving husband or father with this curse of mine.

I had no choice but to comply, and there was only one female that came to mind for this suicide mission.

Chapter Three

~Mirella~

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open. A throbbing headache rushed in, and I winced, holding my head. After a while, the pain subsided, making it possible for me to check my surroundings and try to find out what had happened to me.

I was in a foreign room and lying on a bed befitting a princess or prince. I knew I was in a male room because of the scent, and I wondered whose person's room I was in. Everything came rushing in, from when I'd been sold by my father to the beast in front of me and the chase and...

"Ahh!" I gasped and touched my neck.

I could trace the mark of his bite on my neck!

Was I alive?

Did I really survive that beast?

What the heck happened?

Whose room am I in? I scrambled off from the bed; my legs were weak, and I held onto the bed for support.

Why do I feel this weak?

Reality dawned on me; that cruel beast had marked me. He'd stake his claim on me, and no one can mate with me apart from him.

"You are awake," an amused voice startled me, and I lost my balance and fell on the ground, my butt hitting the floor.

"Oops, you need to be careful, my queen," the old man with gray hair and eyes said to me as he helped me up. He walked to the table nearby and brought out some herbs and prepared it with his tiny mortar and pestle. "Are you okay? I could-"

"Where am I?" I cut him short immediately.

"Silvermist pack," he replied and continued pounding the herbs. I blinked my eyes a couple of times, my lips parted.

I was still in this pack?

I held my head in my hands, uncertain of what to do.

What of the beast? Where is it?

Is it still alive or perhaps locked in its cage?

"Here, take your medicine before I inform alpha Kaelen about you being awake," he stated, and I became alarmed.

"What? No... no, don't call the beast. I'm still healing from yesterday's chase and bite. I'm still weak. I'm... scared of him," I pleaded, feeling so terrified.

"I need to leave here; please help me. I swear I won't tell anyone about how..." I trailed off unsure of what to say. Everyone knew about how dangerous the beast was, so what was I supposed to say to make him help me?

I'm sure he has a grandchild of my age. From the look of things, he was loyal to his Alpha, but I was desperate.

'Lyra! Lyra!' I tried to call my wolf, but I couldn't.

"You can't connect with your wolf for now, young lady, and you've been asleep for a week, not a day, and that's why you need to take this to gain energy," he explained, and my eyes widened in shock.

"A week!" I repeated, and he nodded his head in affirmation.

I've been asleep for a week, and I can't even connect with my wolf!

I can't run away from the pack even if I wanted to because I was sold to the beast by my father. I had no home to go back to, but staying in a pack with a beast as an alpha?

A beast with no humanity?!

I'd asked the Moon Goddess many times what I had done in my past life to deserve such a life.

Was it not better that he murdered me and drank my blood than forcing me to be stuck with him by marking me?

"If you think about escaping, young lady, that would be a dead end. I suggest you cooperate and drink the herb so you can get your wolf back," he warned.

Having no choice but to drink the herbs, I collected it and drank the bitter substance on the go. I squeezed my face, holding back the urge to throw everything up and brush my teeth and scrub my tongue.

"I'll tell the maids to get you ready to meet the Alpha, and I'm Gaius, by the way, my queen," he introduced and left the room.

Why was he calling me "my queen"?

I found it absurd, especially when he said the maids were going to get me ready.

Was he so sophisticated, and I so wretched that I needed to be prepared to be in the same room as him?

~~~

I stared at the mirror, looking at the wonders they'd done on my face. I was amused and happy that I got to be treated this way; it made me feel wanted. The door flung open, and a man, tall, with dark brown, shoulder-length hair and light blue eyes, wearing a regal cloth, walked in. The aura oozing from him screamed deadly and powerful.

The thing that surprised me was his scent that wafted into my nose; he smells somewhat familiar, like we've met before, but I could tell that I hadn't met this drop-dead gorgeous man that made me squirm in excitement and fear at the time.

My experience in this pack would've been a lot smoother if he was the first person I met and not that horrible monster.

The way his bare aura sucked air out of me scared me.

He was an epitome of beauty; he had a Zeus-like physique that could easily make any man drool, and each step he takes toward me makes me wary of him. He makes me annoyingly comfortable, which scares me.

My defenses come up, guarding me from this man. He noticed my discomfort and didn't take a step closer.

He clears his throat. "W-who a...are you?" I stuttered, trying to look anywhere but his eyes.

"I am Alpha Kaelan" He responded calmly, and I felt my heart stop beating for a while. My eyes snapped to his direction, shocked at his answer.

One thing that got me utterly confused was - why would a perfect, down-to-earth, handsome guy claim he's the beast?

Chapter Four

~Kaelen~

"She's ready", Gaius announced and began walking down the hallway to my room.

What was I going to say to her?

I could feel anxiety in my system, and I was quite surprised.

I shouldn't be worrying this much about talking to an Omega...

There she stood, looking at herself in the mirror. Her delicate frame was dressed in a flowing, silken dress that hugged her figure, showcasing her ethereal beauty. Her brown hair cascaded down her back in soft waves, the sunlight catching hints of the honey strands. She turned to face me when she noticed my presence; her eyes scanned me from head to toe and back to my face, where she stared longer than she'd expected to.

Her eyes were captivated-hazel eyes shimmering with an intensity to pull me in. She was beautiful in a way that was haunting, her presence both fragile and fierce.

I took a step closer, my body betraying me as I took her in. I could feel Thane, my wolf, stir within me. I felt that strange, unexplainable bond pulling at me, binding me to her as if we were the only two souls in the world.

I stopped in my tracks when I noticed a sign of discomfort flash across her face. I cleared my throat, ready to tell her to be at ease, at least to reassure her I was no threat in my human form.

"W-who... are you?" She stuttered, trying to look anywhere but my eyes.

"I am Alpha Kaelan" I responded in a calm and steady tone. The expression on her face was something I expected; of course, who would be crazy enough to claim he was the dreaded beast?

"You... Why are you lying? I've seen the beast, and you are not him," she snapped at me, going into her defensive mode. My eyes now on her lips, watching her biting them hard.

"This is what I look like in my human form. What you saw was me in my beast form," I responded, but she wasn't taking in any of my words.

She didn't believe me.

Mirella took an instinctive step back; the fear in her eyes made me hesitate. I needed to make her believe that I was the cursed Alpha.

"He doesn't have a human form, liar. Everybody knows that he is only a beast with no humanity; why are you lying to me? What do you want from me?" She accused me, and I caressed my brows.

A sigh escaped from my lips; this was going to be a long night. What the heck were all these rumors about?

Probably because I let my Beta represent me during any pack matters and that was because I was too ashamed to come out myself. I let myself be anonymous, who would have thought not caring about shutting some rumours down would cause this mess.

"I do not change to a beast except on a full moon, which lasts for a week. After the week, I turn to my human self. Why do you still think I have people in my pack? It's because they know their Alpha becomes insane during the full moon, and they already know what safety measures to do when that happens," I explained, trying not to sound sarcastic.

I closed my eyes in defeat. She still didn't believe me.

"Too bad; I can't change to my beast willingly, or I would have shown you," I stated.

She looks at me for a while, still terrified. I know it's hard for her to trust me, a stranger who claims to be a beast, but she needs to.

"You do not need to be afraid of me; I'll just stand where I am. I'm just here to understand what happened before you blacked out."

She studied me, her gaze flickering over my face as if searching for hints of the beast she'd encounter. Finally, her shoulders relaxed slightly. "Why are you asking me that when you claim to be the beast? You can't remember the hell you put me through?", her tone was laced with sarcasm.

I lowered my gaze. "When I become that form, my mind goes blank, and I remember nothing of what I'd done until I wake up again as... this" I replied, gesturing to my human form, almost in frustration.

"All I know is during the full moon, I shift to beast mode, and then after a week of satiating my bloodlust, I find myself on my bed in my human form with no idea what happens, but," I paused and raised my head. "Somehow you've made me shift before the week is completed, and I need to know how you did it."

"Made you... shift?" She stuttered, her breathing unsteady and her lashes flickering.

"I have no idea what you mean. I don't know. You chased me, and then..." she hesitated, searching for the right words to say.

"And then you called to me, not with words, but... in my mind. It felt like you reached into my thoughts, and then I heard you say something. You-you called me yours." Her cheeks flushed as she spoke, and her hand drifted to the side of her neck where the mark still lay.

Gaius did say I marked her, and I hate that I can't remember when I did it or how I did it. The beast did connect with her, but why?

"Are you sure that's all you could remember? Listen, I think you could help me lift this curse; nobody has ever done this. No female has ever survived me in my beast form, but you and the fact that I didn't feed from your blood but marked you must mean something." I growled, my wolf already becoming impatient.

I was being desperate at this point, but it was for a reason.

She needs to fall for this act! I need to find a way to make her believe I truly care about her. She needs to trust me fully and I need to find a way to bind her to this pack till I've found a solution.

This... This might be my only chance to get myself detangled from that curse that wild witch had placed on me.